recycle lead from batteries

[Hoofer B]

Does anyone recycle lead from batteries? I had 1000 pounds of batteries to sell. I got 10 cents a
pond. Lead is high right now. How do you get the lead out, and is it worth the effort? Bill

 

[used red MN]

To me messing with the likely corrosive and toxic items you would encounter while removing the lead would not be worth the extra money gained by extracting the lead. I guess you gotta die from something.

 

[Keith True]

The last load I hauled in paid 38 cents per pound.A scrapper friend said they are at 32 cents right now.That's for whole batteries,if they are taken apart it raises questions about who did it and where are the remains.

 

[Dave G9N]

I think the return on investment is very low. You need to find a better price from another recycler.

The bullet guys say that there are alloying elements in batteries that make for lousy (brittle) bullets.

https://www.prepperforums.net/threads/lead-from-car-batterys-for-bullet-casting.20790/page-3
Says that there is not much lead left in an old battery. it is mostly lead sulfate. reducing the sulfate to lead produces a lot of SO2, which is nasty.

A.E. Morris, M. Wadsley, in Encyclopedia of Materials: Science and Technology, 2001
4.1 Smelting of Lead
The conventional process for smelting lead involves roasting a mixture of lead sulfide concentrate and flux
... For smelting battery paste, the temperature should be above the melting point of basic lead sulfate PbOPbSO4 [b:157bf51edf](975 C)[/b:157bf51edf]


https://e360.yale.edu/features/getting-the-lead-out-why-battery-recycling-is-a-global-health-hazard

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I got $20 store credit for 2 batteries at O'Reilly's car parts

 

[Keith True]

Lead removed from a battery does NOT bring clean lead price.It is recognized as battery lead,and you will be paid battery price.Clean lead a couple of weeks ago was $1.09 here.There's a few different pay levels for lead prices.Bullets pay one thing,lead flashing another,wheel weights and chunk lead scraps pay pretty good.Stripped out battery lead is at the bottom of the barrel.

 

[M-MAN]

Biggest problem if you melt them is the arsenic. A friend has melted them and threw in wheel weights for lead bullets but that was a long time ago. He said you couldn't get close to the fire because of the fumes.

 

[Russ from MN]

You did OK, batteries just aren't worth much. One place in MN paid me 12 cents, another only offered 10 cents.

 

[shaun wallace]

I knew of a couple of battery cutters years ago. Their sites are now hazardous waste sites. Fenced with chain link and Constien wire with plenty of warning signs. We pay 3.00 battery fee here in Texas to cleanup them sites??? I have found I can get more for batterys at battery store than scrap yard.

 

[Crazy Horse]

I had a boss when I worked summers in the 60's who was always telling me to 'get the lead out'. Now I know what he was talking about, he wanted me to recycle his batteries.

 

[RayP(MI)]

I had a bunch of batteries donated when I was looking for lead for casting bullets. Busting up batteries is a task, eliminating battery fluids and cases is another problem. Then when all is said and done, there is surprisingly little lead in a battery, mostly terminals and plate connectors. Your best bet is to send them to a scrap yard, and let them deal with recycling.
For my bullet making, I use old lead wheel weights, and scraping up all the dribbles under the workbench at a radiator shop. New weights and radiators are less lead content, and don't lend to recycling for lead for casting. I got mine from tire shops and radiator shops before there was a market for lead, and recyclers were paying nothing for it. Shops were glad to have you take it off their hands. At my age, I probably have a lifetime supply. Lead mining is all but closed down, and there is a market for lead for recycling now.

My take is that an individual trying to recycle battery lead is a waste of time and energy. Sell them to a recycler, or scrap yard and let the experts deal with them. Seriously, improperly handled they are hazardous waste.

 

[wore out]

O'Reilly's will take up to 5 batteries a day for recycling and give a store credit (on a ''gift card'') of $10 each.

The details are on their website.

I recently did just that and intend to take in 20 more over a few weeks.

 

[stevieb49829]

Best lead I've found is the old lead drain pipes and filler lead out of cast sewer pipe fittings. Talk to your local plumber who does remodels. I stripped down one lead acid battery to recover the lead. Won't do that again. steve

 

[rustred]

Why would u want to screw around with lead ??? Makes no sense to me. Take the used batteries in to whoever takes them. 10.00 or whatever they are is good and u dont have to get poisoned.

 

[Dave G9N]

(quoted from post at 22:01:30 12/04/23) Best lead I've found is the old lead drain pipes and filler lead out of cast sewer pipe fittings. Talk to your local plumber who does remodels. I stripped down one lead acid battery to recover the lead. Won't do that again. steve

here is a market for lead smelted before 1940. IF you can find the right buyer. "low-background" lead is worth something. 'Something' is hard to pin down. But if the sketchy information I found is correct, it may be worth a little effort if you have some vintage low alpha lead to sell.
https://www.good.is/articles/the-search-for-low-background-steel
"Low-background metals most famously steel and lead are valuable because they carry particularly low levels of radiation compared with most conventional materials."

 

[Tramway Guy]

My brother was helping to upgrade on old rural telephone system back in the 60s; and they were replacing lead-covered bundles of copper wires (wrapped in paper!) with pvc or something more modern.

He brought some home and made a lot of bullets out of that stuff.

 

[Hemmjo]

Trying to reclaim lead from batteries is about the most dangerous thing you can do for your health and that of those close to you. Here is a video of a guy doing it. He acts like he is being safe, but now the whole area around where he was working is contaminated with lead dust. In adition he was breathing lead filled fumes, and toxic fumes from the acid.

Compare all of that work to the small piece of lead he got. MOST of the lead in a battery is in the posts and the and the bars connecting the individual cells. Don't waste your time trying to recover the tiny amount of lead in the plates.

I know this because I have tried it. I was stupid a long time ago. I may still be, but I try to learn from my mistakes.

There was a show on back in early 60's. Ripcord, at the end Ken Curtis(played Festus on Gunsmoke), always said, Don't bet your life you can be careless and get away with it!!!
DONT DO THIS